Home

This documentary about Nelson Mandela, nominated for an Oscar Award in 1996 (Best Documentary Feature), is the official film biography of Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of the ethnically united South Africa. The film touches on Mandela's childhood, family, education, and his long struggle to gain freedom for all the various ethnic groups in South Africa, including his experiences on the Robben Island prison.

"A vibrantly presented and emotionally charged portrait of the dynamic African leader, this needed tighter narration to close informational gaps. For instance, there is very little mention of F.W. de Klerk, although as the corecipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize (along with Nelson Mandela), he most certainly figured greatly in the peaceful passing of the political baton. It may leave you with a few questions but otherwise captures Mandela's remarkable spirit. It follows him from his early days and tribal education through his work with the African National Congress to his election as Africa's first black president. Produced by Jonathan Demme, this wisely includes poetry of Africa, as much a part of Mandela's story as his own inner strength." (Rochelle O'Gorman)

The Palm Channel will present some of the highlights from our catalogue, an eclectic mix of original short films, interviews from our archives exploring the roots and branches of Jamaican music, and much more.

Created by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell (Bob Marley, U2, Grace Jones etc.). Palm Pictures has always pushed musical boundaries and encouraged unlikely collaborations. Since the late 90's it has been a leader in the convergence of music and film, producing and distributing music documentaries, arthouse & foreign cinema, and music videos.
Show less

The Island Trading Archive consists largely of filmed interviews of some of the most influential figures in the history of Jamaican music, including Lee Perry, U-Roy, I-Roy, and the producer Coxsone Dodd.

Most were conducted in Jamaica over 20 years ago in the mid-1990s by Steve Barrow, co-founder of the Blood and Fire label and co-author of The Rough Guide to Reggae. The interviews were shot by D.J. and filmmaker Don Letts, and Rick Elgood, whose credits include many Jamaica-based films and videos.

Additional interviews were completed in 2009 as part of “The Originals” project, which features some of the most important contributors to the growth of Jamaican music in the UK. This series of interviews includes Duke Vin, Count Suckle, and Rico Rodriguez, and was conducted by, among others, Chris Salewicz, author of “Bob Marley: The Untold Story” and many other works on Jamaica and reggae music.

Palm Pictures has always pushed musical boundaries and encouraged unlikely collaborations. Since the late 90's it has been a leader in the convergence of music and film, producing and distributing music documentaries, arthouse & foreign cinema, and music videos.

Created by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell (Bob Marley, U2, Grace Jones etc.). Palm Pictures has always pushed musical boundaries and encouraged unlikely collaborations. Since the late 90's it has been a leader in the convergence of music and film, producing and distributing music documentaries, arthouse & foreign cinema, and music videos.

“1 Giant Leap” (2001) is the groundbreaking multimedia project offering collaborations with some of the world’s most culturally significant musicians, thinkers, artists, authors, actors and scientists to explore the unity in diversity.